Fundraising is at the core of your nonprofit’s day-to-day activities. Furthering your mission—the reason your organization exists—is made possible by bringing in enough revenue to run all of your programs and complete important projects.

Most organizations receive funds from multiple sources, including event revenue, corporate philanthropy, investments, and grants. But the bulk of nonprofit funding comes from individual donations. Fundraising in a way that boosts your organization’s credibility and building lasting relationships with individual supporters will set your nonprofit up for financial success.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through four best practices to help your nonprofit maximize donations:

1. Create a monthly giving program
2. Optimize your online donation form
3. Leverage matching gifts
4. Cultivate and steward major donors

Your organization’s fundraising strategy will be most effective if it’s data-driven and executed by expert professionals. Investing in nonprofit-specific tools, such as comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) software, will streamline your organization’s data collection and analysis. Additionally, providing ongoing training and certifications for your fundraisers will help them apply this data to adjust your approach as your organization grows. Let’s get started!

1. Create a monthly giving program

Nonprofits tend to bring in the majority of individual donations at the end of the calendar year and experience a lull during the summer months, which can make budgeting for year-round initiatives challenging. Creating a monthly giving program helps solve this problem by providing sustainable, ongoing revenue for your organization.

To get your program up and running, CharityEngine’s guide to monthly giving suggests these tips:

• Use your CRM to find monthly giving candidates. The supporters who are most likely to give monthly are those who already contribute significant amounts on a semi-regular basis. For example, a donor who has contributed $100 during each of your past three year-end giving campaigns may be open to setting up a $10 monthly donation. You would only be asking them for $20 more per year, and they could donate more conveniently.
• Incentivize monthly giving. In addition to sending thank-you messages, consider showing your appreciation for monthly donors by offering perks such as access to special events or free branded merchandise.
• Survey your recurring donors periodically. Asking donors what they want out of a monthly giving program and why they’re involved with your nonprofit can help you adjust your communication and engagement strategies over time.

Besides providing reliable funding, creating a monthly giving program also increases supporter retention. When donors give to your organization regularly and receive benefits and recognition in return, they’ll feel valued by your nonprofit and more connected to your mission, which prompts them to continue donating and engaging with you.

2. Optimize your online donation form

Your supporters likely spend much of their time on their computers, tablets, and smartphones. Having a well-designed, user-friendly online donation form is essential for your nonprofit to meet donors where they are.

Try these strategies to optimize your donation page for the best possible user experience:

• Incorporate your nonprofit’s branding. Allowing supporters to share digital badges is a powerful way for them to engage with your brand. Digital badges can have a wide reach, promoting your organization to new audiences and building credibility. 
• Offer suggested donation amounts. To let supporters know how their contributions will further your mission, tie each suggestion to a concrete aspect of your nonprofit’s work. For example, an animal shelter could frame each donation amount in terms of how many dogs and cats that money could provide food and veterinary care for.
• Use a secure payment processor. In addition to being sure that their donations will make a difference, donors need to trust that your nonprofit will keep their credit card and bank account information safe. Look for a PCI-certified payment processor, as it’s the most secure type (even more so than processors marked PCI-compliant).
• Optimize for mobile. Many donors will choose to access your organization’s website on their tablets or smartphones rather than a computer, so your donation form needs to be easy for them to fill out on a small touchscreen. Ensure the page resizes automatically for different devices and all buttons are large enough that supporters can tap them without accidentally navigating elsewhere.

While a good donation form will use all of these strategies, a great donation form will tell a story that inspires supporters to give. Explain your nonprofit’s mission clearly, include eye-catching photos, and emphasize that accomplishing your mission is only possible because of individual donors’ generosity.

3. Leverage matching gifts

Corporate matching gifts allow your nonprofit to essentially double many of the individual donations you bring in. When a supporter who works for a company with a matching gift program makes a donation and submits a match request, their employer will contribute to your organization, usually at a 1:1 ratio.

According to Double the Donation, 84% of donors say they’re more likely to give if they know their contribution could be matched. However, it’s estimated that up to $7 billion in matching funds goes unclaimed each year, mainly because eligible donors aren’t aware that their employers have a matching gift program.

To take full advantage of this opportunity, embed a matching gift tool into your donation form to allow donors to find out if they’re eligible quickly and easily. Some of these tools offer auto-submission capabilities, which streamlines the match request process for supporters and for your organization. Also, make sure to market matching gifts to explain the process to supporters and remind them to check their eligibility.

4. Cultivate and steward major donors

Research shows that 80% of most nonprofits’ individual donation revenue comes from the top 20% of donors. Relationship-building is even more critical to secure these major gifts.

Follow these basic steps to cultivate major donors:

• Conduct prospect research. Specialized major gifts software and wealth screening tools can not only help your nonprofit identify the best candidates for major giving, but also provide insights into donors’ interests and values that will be useful in building relationships with them.
• Communicate regularly with potential donors. Set up an initial meeting with the donor to explain your organization’s mission and get to know them. Then, continue reaching out to them using their preferred communication methods to answer questions, share relevant information, and invite them to events at your nonprofit.
• Wait to make a donation ask until the time is right. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to this step—you’ll need to gauge each donor’s interest in making a major gift on a case-by-case basis before presenting them with opportunities to do so.

Major donors can be challenging to find, so retaining them is especially important. After they make their first contributions, write personalized thank-you notes (by hand if possible), recognize them publicly (with their permission), and send periodic progress updates to encourage them to keep supporting your mission over time.

While the best practices in this guide provide a starting point for maximizing your nonprofit’s donations, keep in mind that each organization is unique. Adapt these tips to your nonprofit’s individual needs and invest in the right resources to ensure you can fund your mission long-term.